By examining what lady beetles eat, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are learning more about the movement of these beneficial insects in farm fields—and whether they'll actively feed on crop pests.
Ecology
Jan 11, 2013
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Scientists have discovered an enzyme used in nature to make powerful chemicals from catnip to a cancer drug, vinblastine. The discovery opens up the prospect of producing these chemicals cheaply and efficiently.
Biochemistry
Nov 21, 2012
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There's good news for fans of black raspberries: A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist and his commercial colleague have found black raspberries that have resistance to a disease-spreading aphid.
Biotechnology
Oct 31, 2012
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As restaurant patrons' diverse food preferences give rise to varied menu offerings, so plant-eating insects' preferences play an important role in maintaining and shaping the genetic variation of their host plants in a geographic ...
Biotechnology
Oct 4, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- In plants, algae and some types of bacteria and fungi, sunlight is converted to chemical energy in a process we all know as photosynthesis; in that process water and carbon dioxide are also converted to oxygen. ...
When a carnivore becomes extinct, other predatory species could soon follow, according to new research. Scientists have previously put forward this theory, but a University of Exeter team has now carried out the first experiment ...
Ecology
Aug 15, 2012
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In retrospect, introducing the Asian ladybird into Europe was a serious mistake. The insect was introduced some twenty years ago in a conscious attempt to combat aphids. But research carried out at Wageningen UR (University ...
Ecology
Jul 31, 2012
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Ladybird larvae that eat prey raised on organically-grown crops are more likely to survive than those eating aphids raised on crops grown with conventional fertiliser, a new experiment shows.
Plants & Animals
Jul 6, 2012
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The yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus, farms root aphids for sugar (honeydew) and nitrogen (protein). In turn these species of aphids have developed distinctive traits never found in free living species such as the 'trophobiotic ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- To humans they might be pretty and small, the inspiration for nursery rhymes and children's clothing, but the redder the lady bird, the worse it tastes to the bird which tries to eat it, an international research ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 6, 2012
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